What’s up, dude? Men still dominate Singapore’s private sector

69% of employees said their immediate superior is male, according to a survey.

In the Randstad Workmonitor Report for Q3, men continue to predominantly hold leadership roles in Singapore’s private sector.

According to the release, a survey of 405 employees in Singapore found more than two-thirds (69%) of respondents said their immediate superior is male in today’s workforce. Among the 219 females surveyed, a larger proportion said they would prefer to work with a male colleague (52%) and to have a male manager (55%) over a female colleague (30%) and manager (20%).

Interestingly, almost half (49%) of male respondents said that they believe the organisation performs best when there is an equal ratio of men to women in the teams. Only 41% percent of women agreed.

Randstad Regional Director, Singapore & Malaysia, Ms Karin Clarke, said: “Women are very good at building strong teams, empowering staff, encouraging open dialogue and being able to pick up non-verbal cues. On the other hand, men tend to compete to win.

“That said, both styles work and it depends on the work environment and what employees best respond to. The most important factor is that employees respect the authority of their leader, are motivated, inspired and feel valued.”

The survey found that two thirds (67%) of employers in Singapore do not take into account the male to female ratio in higher management when looking for new managers, yet almost a third (27%) of respondents believe the performance of their organisation would improve if there were more women in higher management.

“While management positions should always be chosen based on ability and merit regardless of sex, organisations can encourage more women into management positions by adopting measures, such as providing training, developing and coaching to support female employees on their career trajectory,” Ms Clarke added.

The report also found that three-fifths (58%) of employees in Singapore agree that working part-time isn’t possible in a management position and two-fifths (38%) agree that working part time damages their opportunities.

Ms Clarke says providing part-time working options at all levels of the organisations continues to be an under-utilised tool and in order for it to be successful, mindsets need to change.

“Organisations must cast their nets across a wider spectrum of potential future leaders in order to remain competitive and drive the next phase of growth. This includes offering mentoring and career progression opportunities to all workers, not just full-time staff,” Ms Clarke said.

Other key findings of the research include:
· 43% of men and 34% of women agreed that working part-time damages their career opportunities
· 37% of men and 40% of women believe their employer facilities employees wishing to work part-time